Congratulations Christina Murphy – Returning to Chile on a Fulbright this Fall

Christina at work on her internship

Christina Murphy, a senior in Fisheries and Wildlife (College of Agricultural Sciences), International Degree, and University Honors College at Oregon State University, has been awarded a Fulbright to return to the Estacion Costera de Investigaciones Marinas (ECIM) in Las Cruces, Chile to conduct marine research.
ECIM is part of the Pontifica Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile and is internationally known for the quality of its work. Two of the head scientists at ECIM are OSU alumni and have strong connections with Dr. Jane Lubchenko and Dr. Bruce Menge at OSU.
Christina Murphy participated in an IE3 Global Internships internship at ECIM during the summer of 2007. During her time there, she focused on intertidal ecology. For her project, she specifically focused on a species of intertidal predatory crab, Acanthocyclus gayi.  Upon her return from her internship, Christina commented that “Before this internship I had planned to move directly into a PhD in fisheries ecology.  Now, I am applying for a Fulbright to return to Chile to continue my research before entering a graduate program.  In general, going abroad again gave me a chance to look at my life and values out of my normal context.  I have a much clearer perspective when I can look into the situation rather than out from it.” Now, Christina’s dream has come true.  She went on to say that “I want more than anything else to return to Chile on a Fulbright and begin a new project at the station.  I need the experience of complete integration and international research.  While I found the internship exceptionally valuable, I need more time to continue to become a part of the lab and of Chile.  Values such as patience will be essential in my return to graduate school and my large life dream of becoming a professor/researcher.” Christina gained a lot of practical skills in her internship such as adaptability, patience and understanding.  She describes how they relate to a career in science: “Let’s face it: in science, things rarely work out perfectly.  Adaptation is yet another tool of the trade.  I think that learning to adapt to a variety of situations has helped keep me thinking creatively and constantly problem solving.  Understanding is another valuable tool that I will use in my future.  Once again, a lesson that falls as a cornerstone of science.  The struggle for understanding will shape the rest of my professional career.  It is the wellspring for project ideas and research topics.”

Monya Lemery Reports in from Chile

CHILE

After 48 hours in Argentina, I took a 3-hour flight to Santiago de Chile, the capital of the country of Chile. I arrived late at night and first thing the next morning, I had a meeting at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago with the Biological Sciences Department and then went out to the coast to visit their marine science station that is called ECIM or Estacion Costera de Investigaciones Marinas in Las Cruces (web link: http://ecim.cl/student_employment.htm).
ECIM is a marine laboratory with a marine protected area on the central coast of Chile. ECIM offers research and internship opportunities for doctoral students and undergraduates, both from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and from other universities in Chile and internationally. The research community is composed of some 20-30 resident researchers with offices at ECIM, including faculty members, post-doctoral researchers, research assistants, lab technicians, graduate and undergraduate students, as well as exchange scientists from other universities in Chile and abroad. Dr. Sergio Navarrete, Director of ECIM, received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University and maintains strong contacts with renowned scientists Dr. Bruce Menge and Dr. Jane Lubchenko (web link: http://lucile.science.oregonstate.edu/people/lubchenco.php ).

IE₃ Global Internships sent a student from Oregon State University to intern there during summer 2007. You can view Chrissy and the Chilean Crabs blog at: http://chrissythesislog.wordpress.com/ She had a great experience and was able to do a research project for her international degree/honor’s college thesis at OSU!

 

We are hoping to get a formal internship listed on the IE₃ Global Internships website soon. In the meantime, students can contact me if they are interested.There is dorm-like housing on-site with facilities for cooking, doing laundry, etc.

Las Cruces, Chile is in zone V of Chile and is about 1.5 to 2 hours driving time from Santiago. It is a small, coastal town with only a couple of small stores and one restaurant that has great fresh fish and empanadas. The nearest ATM and supermarket is about 20 minutes driving or 30 minutes by bus. It is very easy and cheap to take the public transportation and one can usually get a ride with someone who is going “into town” to get food or supplies. The setting is beautiful and the social life consists of get-togethers with the people who work at the lab. The day I was there, it was overcast which led me to believe that it looks much like the Oregon coast. However, I was assured by my host and one of the researchers, Dr. Evie Wieters, that only the day before it was sunny!

Chrissy was there in the winter and claimed that although it was cold, there was much more sun than in Oregon in the winter. She loved being so close to the ocean and felt that she had a great research experience!

I visited in the spring and the weather was mild. They say that in summer, there are many more tourists around. Just up the coast you can visit the house of the famous poet Pablo Neruda at Isla Negra. It is easy for interns to travel on the weekends to many places in Chile.

Santiago, Chile

Santiago is a big, urban, modern city of about 6.1 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area. There is a notable lack of indigenous influence that you find in countries like Ecuador and Mexico. Santiago is beautiful and clean, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and only 1.5 to 2 hours from the coast. It is very easy to get around the city using the metro or the bus, but you will find that you do a lot of walking, too. There are many attractions to visit on the weekends – the coast, the mountains, vineyards, etc. Students have often found cheap weekend flights to neighboring countries such as Buenos Aires, Argentina on Chile’s major airlines LAN. Most interns find nice accommodations in the upper middle class neighbors of the city – La Providencia, el Centro, and Las Condes. There are many opportunities for shopping, nightlife, cultural events, museums, eating out (although this is not exactly an inexpensive adventure), live music, etc. Chile boasts great trekking and mountaineering and skiing in its many mountains. It is easy to find a gym or swimming pool in the city if you prefer that kind of exercise.

 

Many interns complain about the difficulty of understanding the Chilean Spanish. I felt that I got along quite well and did not have too many troubles. But, I would strongly recommend any intern planning to come to Santiago to study for a few weeks at the Tandem Language School. It is very cheap ($125/week for 20 hours of Spanish language instruction) and the interns have been very happy with it.

 

While I was in Santiago, it was quite hot – reaching 30 degrees Celsius (and it was Spring!).

The cuisine is rather European, not spicy, lots of variety – fish, meat, chicken, pasta, potatoes, etc. Chile is well known for its wines.

 

Like Argentina, Chile is in the Southern Hemisphere, meaning that the seasons are opposite of ours. In Argentina, everyone takes summer vacation in January. In Chile, summer vacation is February, so this is a particularly slow month for many activities and a busy time at the coast.

 

IE₃ Global Internships offers internships at the following organizations in Santiago: SEDEJ (Servicios para el Desarrollo de los Jóvenes), EPES (Fundacion Educacion Popular en Salud), Tronwell Language Institute, and the American Chamber of Commerce.

SEDEJ: SEDEJ (Servicios para el Desarrollo de los Jóvenes) is a non-profit organization providing support services to high risk youth and low-income clients across the greater Santiago metropolitan area and environs. The main current projects include: youth counseling and service centers; micro-finance and small business development support; and women agricultural worker safety and education. Many other projects of innovative social, political and development content have been undertaken over the years. IE₃ Global Internships has had interns get involved in counseling projects, working with low-income kids, working with homeless adults, and working on fundraising and organizational development. The main office is located in a renovated, old building and there are about 20-30 staff members who are mostly young women. The director is a very warm and inspirational, older man named Rene whose eyes sparkle and who is very concerned about the personal development of the interns who they accept to work with them. No one in the office speaks English, so it is very important that interns have a proficient Spanish in order to be successful in this environment.

 

I was able to meet with current intern, Kaydee Clark, who is working on fundraising projects in the main office. As well, I met with the director, a psychologist and other staff member. Everyone is so warm and friendly!

EPES: EPES was founded in 1982 as a health training project. Inspired by a vision of quality and fairness in health care for the poor, it offered training, guidance, and support for community health groups. Over the past twenty-five years, EPES has grown from a small, emergency-response team to a leader of systematic community campaigns to improve health services and awareness. EPES is dedicated to improving the health and quality of life of shantytown inhabitants through the training and organized participation of the residents themselves. A staff of twenty health professionals and administrative personnel works in two centers, Santiago and Concepción. The EPES Center in Santiago is the headquarters for the organization. It is located in a working class neighborhood on the south side of the city.

I visited with the Director, Sonia Corrubias, and the current IE₃ intern, Laura Syron. EPES works primarily with women and focuses on a multitude of health issues such as domestic violence and HIV/AIDS. Sonia and many of the staff of EPES have been involved with the organization since its inception, thus they have tons of organizational history and knowledge.

Laura is at EPES for a 6 month internship. She feels that this has been the perfect internship for her to learn about public health and human rights. She hopes to pursue graduate school in public health and human rights law, so this experience has been great training ground for her professional goals. Prior to interning, Laura had completed 4 years of university level Spanish, including a study abroad program at PUCE in Quito, Ecuador. She took 3 weeks of intensive Spanish upon her arrival in Santiago and felt that was really necessary for her to be successful on the job. Thus, very strong Spanish is a must in this environment! As Laura lives in a middle class neighborhood in the north part of the city, she commutes about one hour each way to work. There are lots of opportunities for interns to get involved in current events and learn about Chilean history and culture.

 

Tronwell Language Institute: is located in the posh neighborhood of Las Condes. It is a very high-tech, modern, language school and testing center that would be a fabulous opportunity for anyone interested in a career in teaching, especially teaching language (such as English). It is not necessary for interns to have Spanish to come here. I was honestly quite taken aback at the facilities. They offer their own entire curriculum and they have many important contracts – such as teaching English to the pilots of LAN airlines or teaching English/French to peace keepers being sent abroad. Students sing-in using their fingerprint. They offer training and resources to their teachers. Teachers start working with conversational groups at the center and as they get more comfortable can move on to do in-office courses for corporations. You feel like you are in modern Europe working in these facilities and in this part of the city. This is also a paid internship!

 

The American Chamber of Commerce is also located in the upscale neighborhood of Las Condes inside of the 5-star Marriott Hotel. Santiago is a great environment for interns to learn about international trade, but prospective interns need to do their research, read the Amcham website, and their magazine “Business Chile,” and prepare their cover letter and interview accordingly. As they only accept one intern at a time, it can be competitive to get accepted. The months of January and February (Chile’s summer) are slow in terms of events going on, but there is still plenty of work for the intern to do. Much of the staff is on vacation during February. March is a really busy season (much like September in the U.S.) with the beginning of fall. Interns will work in the research department assisting with specific questions that companies have about regulations and import/export procedures and get involved in special projects. About a block away, is an upscale mall with a food court and cinemas, so it is an easy place to relax during your lunch break or to hang out.

ContactChile is a local organization that assists IE₃ Global Internships students with setting up housing arrangements in Santiago, arranging Spanish language courses, and weekend excursions. The offer monthly happy hours for all interns in Santiago to meet each other and see how things are going. They have a wide range of services.